19th Sep 2009, 16:46

2000 JGC bought it with 36000 and had regular maintenance performed. Now got 120,000 and am losing coolant, and oil pressure at idle. Replaced oil pump, no help. Told that cam bearing spun. Good luck to anybody who bought this year of Jeep.

20th Sep 2009, 13:45

I am reading about the problems that many of you are having and have discovered possible remedies to my problem. I have a 2000 GCL with 115,000 miles. Replaced water pump and thermostat at 90,000. Replaced thermostat again at 110,000 after overheating occurred. It is now overheating when idling. I am going to test the fuse and relay and possibly the fan motor. I hope its just a fuse but I couldn't be that lucky. Will let you know how successful I am.

27th Oct 2009, 10:53

I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and have had problems keeping it cool, so I replaced the clutch fan with a electric fan and SPAL fan controller with no luck getting it to work, so I just use the over-ride switch to keep the electric fan on at all times. I installed a 180 thermostat and the temp still climbs to 210, and the secondary fan kicks on.

I too have been losing coolant slowly to nowhere, and after pulling a trailer, the oil pressure dropped and the check gauges light came on. I was checking on a new oil pump, but with all these entries, it seems like I have a whole lot more problems.

I love the Cherokee and don't want to sell it, but at what cost? This morning the lifters were ticking loudly and the oil pressure was at 40psi, so I am afraid of the results. New (Old) motor please! If Jeep has a head flawed design, what do you buy to replace it, a old head? Will it work with the newer intake and DIS system?

4th Dec 2009, 01:42

I too bought a Jeep Cherokee from a used dealership in 2008, it is a 2000 4L 6i also, same issues, the week after I brought the car, the engine blew, the dealer would not cover it because they sent it to their mechanic shop, and of course the mechanic shop said it wasn't the dealers fault, they told me that a rock hit the fan and put a small hole in the engine... I spent close to 1200 getting the engine rebuilt.

Car ran for a little while, then the check coolant light kept coming on, I had to keep a bottle of coolant in my car and the coolant would run out every 2-3 weeks. Then in Oct the engine blew again, my car is currently parked until I can find a low mileage engine to replace the old one. I do believe that this is a flaw in the design. Meanwhile I am still paying a car payment and having to work to get money to fix my car... ughhhh.

11th Dec 2009, 19:17

My Jeep started the oil pressure dance today. Goes to zero at idle and back up on acceleration. Has never happened before.

Just got oil changed two weeks ago - could that have effected it?

I have bad lock actuators. Have had the fan replaced, water pump, inner and out tie rod ends - all in the last year. The vehicle was great till it hit 95k miles. Radio flashes on and off.

I'm really worried about this pressure issue. I can't afford a new or used car right now. Just dunno what I'm gonna do. I've loved this car till the last year.

20th Dec 2009, 09:58

I have a 99 Laredo 4.0L. The electric fan failed in Dec 07. Replacement electric fan failed in Jul 09, this time the radiator plastic side blew out. I replaced the radiator, and switched to a stock 5-bladed mechanical fan and fan clutch for $125, which was also cheaper than replacing another electric fan motor for $180. The water pump already has threads for the fan. Install time about 15 minutes. Then, unplug the elec fan.

Gas mileage actually got 1-2 mpg better with mechanical fan, because the A/C compressor wasn't staying on as much. I think this was due to the A/C condensor getting a constant airflow with the mechanical fan, whereas it was not with the electric fan. Also, A/C output felt much colder (Alabama in July).

But the big issue for me was reliable cooling. I trust the mechanical fan, especially for off-road or pulling trailer. I no longer trust electric fans.

20th Dec 2009, 17:54

I bought my 2000 Jeep Laredo 6 cylinder in 2003 with just 20,000 miles. Besides routine maintenance, it has been great. Oil changed every 3,500 miles, etc.

Then, last month, with 98,000 miles, it started losing coolant. I know nothing about cars and assumed I needed a new radiator. Nope. You guessed it: the cylinder head was cracked. The first mechanic suggested a new, rebuilt engine at $4,000 (aren't these things worth about that)? The second mechanic replaced the cylinder head including corresponding parts for $1,600. I hope this does the trick.

I love the car, and love not having a car payment even more. But now that I'm paying off the $1,600, I guess I DO have a car payment. I'm surprised these issues aren't more widely publicized.

4th Jan 2010, 22:49

I have had 2 Jeep Cherokee Sports.

I leased a brand new Jeep Cherokee Sport in 1999. It ran perfectly without any problems for 6 years until I returned it to the leasing company in 2005 with 120,000 km on the odometer. I loved the vehicle, but I couldn't afford to buy it from the leasing company at the end of the lease. I vowed to buy one in the future.

In March 2009, I purchased a used 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport at a used car lot in Hamilton, Ontario. It is exactly the same as the previous one except for the colour and the mileage was 203,000 km. I paid $3500.00 Canadian including tax for the vehicle. I was prepared to spend money on repairs because I knew it was a good vehicle with a strong engine.

Since then I have paid about $4000.00 to the Jeep dealership in repairs to fix several oil leaks, replace rear brakes, replace multiple sensors, spark plugs, air filter, 2 starters (1st one ceased), 2 catalytic converters, 2 oxygen sensors, new stainless steel muffler, service front differential and change front pinion seal, service transmission, service the cooling system and 4 like new used BF Goodrich AT tires.

It now runs like a new vehicle. No oil leaks, no coolant leaks, no oil pressure problems, no vibration in front end, no light problems; everything works like it is supposed to.

Since I bought the vehicle, I have put on 35,000 more km.

My only complaint is the cost to repair the vehicle through the dealership and their total lack of mechanical knowledge about the vehicle. They charge $93 to diagnose repairs and $95 per hour to do the repair. Even if it takes 30 minutes, they charge a full hour because they reward the mechanic for finishing the work early.

I have found the mechanics take shortcuts to race through the repairs. Their work was sloppy and often did not do the repair properly the first time and it had to go back again. They often left tools under the hood. One time, after a repair visit to the dealership, I heard an awful noise and vibration coming from the transmission and when I looked underneath, I found the mechanic had left his flashlight on top of the transmission and it was bouncing on top of the drive shaft.

I also experienced the dealership service department increased the price after they had quoted the repair. I will NEVER take my vehicle to the dealership again for service. I thought they would be experts in servicing the Jeep Cherokee, but I was mistaken. They don't have a clue when it comes to diagnosing repairs to my Jeep Cherokee.

Last summer, the Chrysler Dealership installed the wrong O2 sensor and burned out the Cat Converter twice, and severely carboned up the engine, and all it really needed was new spark plugs. I now take my vehicle to an independent shop that specializes in offroad 4x4 vehicles. They are way more knowledgeable about my vehicle, and they charge much less at $65 per hour to do the repairs, and don't charge to diagnose. Since they have been working on my truck, I haven't had problems. I wish I had found them sooner because the cost for repairs would have been half.

I LOVE my 2000 Jeep Cherokee, and I look forward to enjoying many more years of driving it on and off road, but NEVER AGAIN will the dealer get my business. I have found that Jeep dealerships pretend to be experts, replace things that don't need repair, waste my time, mess up the vehicle and charge too much. I need that like a hole in my head.

Good luck everyone, and Happy Jeeping in 2010!